On 29 June Russian Ambassador to South Africa Mikhail Petrakov opened his photoexhibition titled 'Human Touch' at the National Arts Festival 2017 in Grahamstown - showcasing colourful images of Moscow & Russian Orthodox Church in Midrand - this event comes under the umbrella of the on-going Russia-South Africa Cultural Seasons.

Russia continues to participate in the National Arts Festival for the second year in a row - this time presenting its beauty & rich spiritual essence through Visual Arts.

We took notice of the article by Caryn Dolley «Underworld takeover: The Russian links» alleging a connection between the introduction of the Russia-South Africa visa-free regime and a spike in criminal activity in Cape Town supposedly involving Eastern Europeans. The article was published on News24 on 10 April 2017.

At no point in time has Ms. Dolley or News24 contacted the Embassy to verify facts used in the article and receive an official comment on the matter.

Even in terms of geography, unnamed citizens of Eastern Europe and Ukraine, either real or imaginary, come from Eastern Europe and Ukraine, and visa regulations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Africa cannot be applied to them. Those personalities presented by the author as «Russians» are also not Russian citizens.

The false allegations and connections implied by the author are unworthy of the standards set by Media24 and News24. What we have is a classic example of fake news, with a «story» based on hearsays, rumours, wild assumptions and unverified information.

This piece puts a taint on the visa-free regime in the eyes of the South African audience, and unfairly so, as the visa waiver has been introduced to benefit both our nations, strengthen people-to-people ties, bolster tourism and broaden economic cooperation.

The Protocol between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of South Africa on the reciprocal repeal of visa requirements for foreign travel passports, that was concluded by an exchange of official documents, will come into force on March 30.

Under the Protocol’s provisions, citizens of Russia and South Africa travelling without the intention of working, studying or living in the other country’s territory, are free from visa requirements and can enter, stay or transit without a visa for a duration of up to 90 days.

On March 7, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the South African Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia, Ms Nomasonto Maria Sibanda-Thusi, unveiled an exhibit of archive documents at the Russian Foreign Ministry to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and South Africa, which were established on February 28, 1992.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Russian parliament’s Federation Council and State Duma, ministries and agencies, business and research communities, Russian diplomatic service current and retired staff, members of the South African Embassy in Moscow, as well as South African businesspeople and students.

In their opening remarks, Mr Lavrov and Ms Sibanda-Thusi spoke about the strong historical ties between Russia and South Africa that developed during the struggle against apartheid and have since grown into a strategic partnership. The ministers pointed out the dynamic growth of Russian-South African interaction in a number of areas, including trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation. They also positively assessed the two countries’ constructive cooperation at the UN, BRICS, the G20 and other international organisations.